


ash and eiji's wild christmas sleepover

by laanatdelrey



Category: Banana Fish (Anime & Manga)
Genre: A Lot Of Chaos, Ash Lynx Lives, Ash is v happy, Asheiji kisses, Big Christmas Spirit, Christmas Spirit, Christmas sleepover, Eggnog, M/M, No Angst, Shorter is an idiot, The entire gang hanging out on Christmas day, a bit of crack, ash speaks spanish!!, asheiji neck kisses, fun times indeed, happiness, mistletoe kisses, they get drunk off of eggnog
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:47:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28483374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laanatdelrey/pseuds/laanatdelrey
Summary: Ash and Eiji hold the ultimate Christmas party with the gang members! A sleepover. Gingerbread houses. Karoake--and a lot of eggnog.For Rimi's AshEiji Secret Santa 2020!
Relationships: Ash Lynx/Okumura Eiji
Comments: 6
Kudos: 56





	ash and eiji's wild christmas sleepover

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Hypi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hypi/gifts).



> Greetings everyone!
> 
> This fic is dedicated to my friend Ash @enbyashlynx on Twitter, my giftee for SongBirdRimi’s AshEiji Gift Exchange 2020! Ash, this is for you ;) 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this fic I wrote to you. I spent a lot of time planning and writing this fic, and I hope this brings you some comfort and joy <3 I included a lot of things that you love that you might notice, hopefully. I had a lot of fun writing this for you, and I really do hope that this makes you happy. :)) Also theres a pretty crack-ish scene, I hope you are alright with that. I tried my best writing this fic, this is the longest fic i've ever written. 
> 
> Have a safe holiday, ilysm!! take care of yourself. Also, I hope I kinda made you laugh hehee. ilysm. enjoy!! ;) 
> 
> \- Maira <3
> 
> P.S: Also, Ash speaks Spanish in a particular scene. The words will be seperated with these brackets < >

“Sleeping bags?” Ash asked,

“Check,” replied Eiji.

“Gingerbread making kits?”

“Check.”

“Pizza?”

“Max is bringing pizza.”

“Alright!” exclaimed Ash as he ticked off the last thing in their to-do list. 

Eiji lifted their eyes off the to-do list to glance at their decorated New York apartment. A Christmas tree decorated with lights proudly glowed on the corner of the living room. On the kitchen lay stacks of gingerbread making kits. Blankets and pillows were stretched out on the floor of the living room for their sleepover. A fireplace was set in the center of the room, wood crackling and the flames of the fire blending in an array of oranges and yellows. 

The pair have been planning the ultimate Christmas party for Ash’s gang for the past two weeks. Eiji insisted on holding a sleepover for them, something different than the typical get-togethers they would have in the bar, which was how Ash’s gang normally celebrated Christmas. In addition to their sleepover, they have dressed in holiday-themed pajamas, with Ash and Eiji wearing matching pale blue reindeer pajama bottoms with fuzzy sweaters. Eiji seemed to be more enthusiastic about this sleepover, as he is currently donning a pair of reindeer horns. Meanwhile, Ash begrudgingly wore a red Santa hat (after lots of insistence from Eiji)

“I can’t believe we are actually doing this!” Eiji sighs happily, “I have been planning this for a very long time. I’ve always wanted to do something like this with you guys.” Ash wraps his arms around Eiji, snuggling his nose in Eiji’s inky waves. Inhaling the faint scent of peppermint, Ash spoke, “I never had anything like this before” he confessed, burying his cheek in Eiji’s waves that tickled his nose. “Most of the time we just gathered around that dingy bar for a drink or two. Now we are having a  _ sleepover _ ...something I never truly got to have. I feel like a child,”

They stayed like this for a moment, arms encircled around each other. Eiji was going to break the hug to lean in for a kiss when they were interrupted by the chime of the doorbell.

“Oh, I think they’re here!” Eiji exclaimed. He happily skipped to the entrance to crack open the door.

  
Lo, and behold was Sing and Shorter. Sing wore an oversized sweater with a pair of fleece pants, clutching a teddy bear, whereas Shorter was wearing an Olaf onesie. Both had small packages tucked under their arms, wearing big grins.

“Hey, catboys~” Shorter hummed as he excused himself in the apartment and clapped Ash’s shoulder, “Of course, I had to get into the Christmas spirit today,” He announced, striking a pose in his Olaf onesie. Sing clapped his forehead in disgust, “Jeez, Shorter. You’re being cringey today.  _ Get into the Christmas Spirit,  _ my ass! You sound like a middle aged white mom.”

“Oh shut up, Sing!” Shorter groaned, “I just wanna show off my onesie, that’s all!”

“Welcome, Sing!” Said Eiji, breaking off their squabble, “I’m so glad you’re here today,” as he welcomed Sing inside, receiving a friendly smile in return. 

They kicked off their shoes and made their way to the living room, where they flopped on the various pillows and blankets that were presented to them. “Ahhh, so cozy!” Shorter exclaimed as he pretended to make imaginary snow angels. Sing meanwhile grabbed a fleece blanket and wrapped himself in it, looking like a blanket burrito.  _ Cute. _

The doorbell chimed again, as more guests started to file in. Bones and Kong arrived with plushies tucked under their arms and donning giant sweatshirts, followed by Alex and Cain who both sported red Santa hats. The gang exchanged holiday greetings and clapped each other’s backs, and the small living room soon began to feel lively as the joyous laughter and the scent of pinewood filled the atmosphere. It was always the typical holiday spirit that lingered in the year, however this year carried a sense of change in environment, as Eiji was joining in this time. 

Something about Eiji brought a different light to this year’s Christmas. He always carried this light along with his bubbly personality, always brightening the gang. His pure innocence as well as his kindness that he extends towards the gang always created a comforting presence whenever he was around.

_ They would never know what they would do without Eiji.  _

“Alright, gather up!” Ash clapped his hands, “So I think now that everyone’s here, we should start exchanging presents for our secret santa!”

Before the party, the gang had organized a mini secret santa exchange, where each giftee had to bring a small present for their secret santa after doing a draw.

“I think we can start now--” Eiji counted the amount of people, “--Wait. Where’s Yut Lung?”

“Ugh. He’s always late to parties,” Sing rolled his eyes. 

Just by coincidence, the doorbell rang. 

“Speak of the devil, it’s him!” blurted Bones. 

Eiji rushed to the entrance and cracked open the door. A person with long black hair and satin pajamas with a vinyl suitcase was waiting by the door. 

Yut Lung.

“Hi, I guess~” He muttered as he excused himself in, taking off his furry slippers. 

Eiji greeted him with a smile, “I’m glad you’re here, Yut Lung,”

Yut Lung’s features immediately softened, giving him a shy smile. 

“Y-Yut Lung?” Kong whispered to Ash, peeking over his shoulder “ _ The _ Yut Lung?”

“We made amends,” explained Ash. “Sing’s idea.”

Yut Lung made his way to the center of the living room, making space for himself to sit between Sing and Shorter. He shyly waved to Sing, who waved back.

“Alright, gift time!” Ash clapped his hands as the gang formed a circle in the middle of the living room. “Give your gift to your secret Santa and…that’s basically it! Who wants to go first?”

Kong enthusiastically raised his hand, “Me! Me!”

He scooted over to Eiji’s side.

“Eiji, I was your secret Santa, and I made you a present!” He presented the giant hand wrapped package to Eiji, “Open it! I hope you like it.”

Eiji slowly unwrapped the snowflake wrapping paper with care, seeing a large bundle of fabric inside. He took out the fabric from the package, and gently shook it to reveal a large, cozy lavender sweater. 

“Umm,” Kong scratched his head nervously, “I knitted it myself. I don’t think I did a very good job, I think it’s too plain—“

“Kong, this is beautiful! I love it!” Eiji hugged his sweater. “It’s so cozy, I love it so much. I can’t believe you made this for me! I didn’t know you knit!” 

Kong chuckled harmoniously, “Yeah, I know how to knit. I just wanted to make it for you. I’m so glad you enjoyed your gift, Eiji!” He watched with a relieved smile on his face as Eiji put on the sweater, and stuck his arms over the holes that fit him perfectly.

Ash couldn’t help but admire how  _ adorable _ Eiji looked, in his Christmas themed pajamas and reindeer horns and Kong’s oversized sweater.  _ Damn, he’s whipped for this cutie patootie. _

The rest of the gang continued with the exchange, trading gifts and knick knacks as their giftees gladly received their presents with happiness. Ash got socks with passages from  _ The Catcher in the Rye _ and immediately put them on. Bones got a crocodile plushie. Kong got an antique snow globe. Alex got an array of scented candles. Cain and Sing both received Pokemon cards.

Everyone seemed to have received their gifts, or at least _ seemingly normal gifts _ until it was Yut Lung and Shorter’s turn. Yut Lung held a small, egg shaped object. Shorter was cupping a cylinder with a mischievous look on his face. 

“So Shorter was my secret Santa,” Yut Lung grunted, “So I got him something that I think he would like,” He handed Shorter a hastily wrapped egg shaped object. It was slightly heavy, and was covered in simple red wrapping paper. 

Shorter brought it to his ear and shook it rigorously. Nothing shook inside. 

“Why are you shaking it Shorter? It’s not a frickin’ container!” Sing exclaimed.

He smirked, and ripped the wrapping paper apart to reveal a dark green colored fruit. 

“Oh my goodness!” Shorter squealed, “An avocado! Thaaaaaanks!” He scooped Yut Lung in a hug, who hissed like a snake in response. 

“Geez, I didn’t even put in much thought into your present. Why do you even like it so far?” He grumbled in Shorter’s arms. 

Shorter pulled back and grinned, then handed him a present wrapped in snowflake wrapping paper. Yut Lung reluctantly accepted, slowly ripping the paper away to reveal an empty Mason jar.

“What the hell is this?” Yut Lung quipped, “It’s just an empty jar. Gee, thanks!” 

“Open it.”

“But there’s nothing in there—“

“Just open it,” Shorter interrupted.

Reluctantly, Yut Lung gripped the lid hard and twisted it. The jar still wouldn’t budge, so he brought the jar closer to his chest. He finally pried the lid open—

—and a gush of wind flew on his face. 

Yut Lung’s nostrils flared, and he let out a high pitched scream that practically rang the walls.

“SHORTER??? DID YOU JUST FART INTO A F*CKING JAR?” He roared, “WHAT THE HELL IS THIS SHIT?”

Shorter collapsed on him and rolled around, laughing obnoxiously. “M-m-merry CHRISTMAS!” He cackled between gasps. The smell soon spread to the rest of the gang members, as they plugged their noses and waved their hands. Bones and Kong joined Shorter as they laughed in harmony.

Ash rolled his eyes to the back of his head. “Shorter, we literally made amends with this guy only for you to pay him back like this.” Eiji excused himself to grab a cinnamon scented candle and light it since the room was beginning to smell so bad. 

_ Just Shorter being Shorter. _

_

After the gang exchanged their gifts and fooled around for a little bit, they began with the gingerbread decorating. 

They hovered over to the kitchen table, where an array of gingerbread making kits welcomed them. Containers of frosting dyed in festive colors and Ziploc bags were placed on a red table cloth, and bowls of various types of sprinkles and gum drops. 

“I spent hours buying armloads of gingerbread making kits and putting all of the decorations in order, so you better not mess up my display,” Eiji announced, as everyone immediately scurried over to cop a box of their own gingerbread making kit. 

The guests ripped open the packages and immediately got to building the gingerbread houses. While the gang scurried to read the instructions, Shorter flicked the instruction paper away. “I don’t need  _ instructions _ ,” He quipped, as he cracked all of his knuckles. “I’ve always made gingerbread houses with Nadia, so you can say I’m a  _ pro _ at this,” 

Ash rolled his eyes, “Okay,  _ sir _ .”

Meanwhile, the gang seemed to struggle in constructing their gingerbread houses, or at least making them quite  _ messily _ . Cain Blood seemed to know what he was doing, gently angling his frosting bag to pipe the pieces of gingerbread together to build his house. (“My mom was a baker and she always made gingerbread houses during this time of the year” He would say.) Yut Lung also was making his gingerbread house properly, already attaching the roof and piping decorations into his house.

However, everyone else was struggling miserably.

Bones and Sing got too impatient with their gingerbread houses, squirting heaps of white frosting on their gingerbread doors that kept collapsing. They gave up and instead decided to chase each other. Sing squealed “HELP! HELP ME! HELP ME PLEASE!” as Bones raced after him with messy hands coated with frosting. Kong grabbed handfuls of gumdrops and dumped them on his gingerbread house, declaring, “I MADE MY GINGERBREAD HOUSE BITCHES!” and joined Bones into capturing Sing. Alex managed to build his gingerbread house but was struggling with decorating his house with frosting ; he kept squeezing his piping bag too hard, ending up with frosting flying everywhere. 

Meanwhile, Eiji was deeply invested in his gingerbread house. Ash watched with adoration as Eiji squinted his eyes in concentration, his nose scrunching as he piped a dot of frosting on a red chocolate candy as he attached them onto the door of his house. He even stuck his tongue out of attentiveness. 

Ash thought he was the sweetest person ever. He always put the most amount of care in even the tiniest details.

Ash was almost done with his gingerbread house--simply decorated with white frosting that lined the doors, the corner of the houses, and the roof of the house. An array of red, brown and green candies lined the roof of the house and decorated the windows.  _ Looks a bit tacky, _ Ash thought,  _ but I think I did a good job.  _

Decorating gingerbread houses reminded him of when he used to bake with Griffin as a kid. _ It was almost like he was reliving his memory.  _

Ash was snapped out of his daze when he saw Eiji struggling with a green frosting bag. He had a hard time properly squirting it. The frosting came out more like clumps and less like actual frosting. Eiji looked at Ash with a sheepish expression on his face. “Ash, can I get a hand here?”

He went over to Eiji’s side to assist him with frosting the roof, wrapping his long arms around Eiji’s. He gently cupped Eiji’s hands and adjusted them to hold the piping bag, guiding him as he assisted him in piping dollops of frosting and patterns onto his gingerbread house.

Ash’s warmth was intoxicating and made Eiji feel safe. He almost leaned into Ash’s embrace as they enjoyed this moment of intimacy together. It was like they were in their own little world doing nothing but decorating gingerbread houses together. 

Ash helped him finish decorating his gingerbread house that was garnished in patterns of red and green candies and sugar. Eiji pulled himself out of Ash’s embrace and stared into his jade green eyes. Ash cupped Eiji’s cheek, stroking his thumb back and forth on his cheekbone. Eiji closed his eyes and stood on his tippy toes to give him a kiss, until they were rudely interrupted with the entire gang jumping out from underneath the table.

“OOOO, LOVEBIRDS!!! LOVEBIRDS!!!! LOVEBIRDS!!!!” They jumped out and singsonged, Shorter and the others making obnoxious kissing noises while Yut Lung wrinkled his nose out of disgust. “HEY! CUT IT OUT!” Ash shouted with a red blush present on his cheeks as he ran after them. Everyone started screaming and ran around the apartment, begging Ash for mercy as he grabbed a frosting bag and (jokingly) threatened everyone with it. 

Their gingerbread making adventure ended with a messy kitchen, sticky frosting, and candies and sprinkles that scattered all over the floor. Everyone collapsed in laughter, bickering with each other until the chime of the doorbell snapped Ash to his senses. 

He excused himself to answer the door. Ash peeked through the peephole to see Max holding a stack of pizza boxes. 

_ Great. _

Ash opened the door. 

“Hey,  _ dad _ .”

“Merry Christmas, son! I hope you’re having lots of fun with you and your pals,” Max cheerfully replied, as he made his way inside of the apartment to assist Ash with the pizza boxes. “Geez, it looks like you guys are having a bit  _ too _ much fun right now,” Max commented, eyeing the messy counters and frosting that specked the kitchen. 

“Hope you’re having fun sitting in a rocking chair and watching a fireplace crackle with ten million cats on your lap, old man. I can see your gray hairs already.” Ash chuckled.

Max couldn’t help but laugh at Ash’s witty remark. “Alright, son. I guess I’m leaving you here. Don’t do anything stupid or else I’m going to have to play the role of the _ responsible adult  _ here!” He winked, before seeing himself out. 

Little did Max know that there were bottles of eggnog waiting for the gang in the fridge. 

_

The scent of eggnog was intoxicating. Nutmeg. Brandy. Blended with plenty of milk.

Everyone was in a drunk daze and acting a bit  _ too cheery _ . 

Shorter stumbled to the kitchen where he ripped open packets of sugar, grabbing fistfuls as he shoved him in his mouth. He stumble-ran all over the house, spilling sugar around him as he kept reciting, “MY BLOOD SUGARRRRRR IS SKYROCKETING! *hic* MY BLOOD SUGAR IS SKYROCKETING! HURRRRRRRRGH” as he collapsed on the floor.

Yut Lung was ranting about a coin he found on the street to a passed out Kong, “It’s a dream come true!” He declared, pointing a finger up with a smile on his face, “Indeed, I think luck will come to me. I can’t believe I found a _bloody_ _coin_ on the street the other day! It was _bonkers_ , but in a good way!” He was somehow speaking in a thick British cockney accent, acting in a very chatty mood. 

Sing and Cain were having a slapping contest, hitting each other harder and harder as they threw hands at each other with Bones cheering them on (Cain won.) Eiji was on a daze, muttering to himself in Japanese on the couch as he watched everyone lose control of themselves.

Alex and Ash, on the other hand, were in a different situation. 

They brought a karaoke machine and started to belt out the lyrics to “Last Christmas” by Wham! together. They giggled and hiccuped as they yelled the lyrics on top of their lungs, that turned into more of a screaming competition and less of a karaoke battle. Alex ended up winning, declaring himself as the “King of Karaoke,” ; Alex was secretly good at karaoke. 

Ash and Alex’s conversation took a turn when Ash got up on his knees and stood up on the living room coffee table. Holding his fist up, he began his drunken speech.

“<I love Eiji, I really doooo!>” He declared, standing on a table, “<He has the warmest chocolate brown eyes I’ve ever laid eyes upon. He gives great hugs. And he has a fat assssssss. An’ he holds me when I cry. An’ he makes good soup. I love him. He’s my darlingggggggg. My cutie-patootie. The reason I live. I LOVE MY EIJIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!>”

“<Dude, you’re a-actually  _ really _ f-fluent in Spanish right nowwwwwwww.>” Alex hiccuped as he belched loudly. 

Ash practiced his Spanish with Alex sometimes, but he only went as far as conversational in the language. However, Ash is quick to learn new words and sentences. And it turns out a bit of alcohol can make a person fluent. 

Ash hopped off the coffee table and stumbled to Eiji’s side, where he attempted to kneel down on one knee. He took Eiji’s hand, caressing his palm and feeling the calluses on his hand.

“<Can we raise cats together, Eiji? Maybe lots of children? Can we get a succulent plant?>”

“ _ Nani _ ?” Eiji replied in Japanese. He tipped his head in confusion, a cherry red blush that colored his cheeks. 

“<My darling. Look at you. I love you, EijiiiiiiI!”>” He cried, as thick tears rolled down his cheeks. “<EIJIIIIIIII I LOVE YOU!>” Ash hugged Eiji, weeping as he snuggled into Eiji’s shoulder who was beyond confused. 

Alex started clapping and hooting for the couple, shouting “CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR WEDDING, ASH!” 

The entire gang stopped what they were doing and the room soon began to rise with applause, with everyone congratulating them on their “wedding.” 

“Congratulations on your wedding guys! What a lovely day!” Yut Lung cheered in his British accent,

“YOOOOOO GUYS ARE MARRIED!”

“WOO HOO! OH YEAH!!!” 

“MY MANZ ARE MARRIED! *HIC*”

“MAKE SURE YOU GUYS WEAR PROTECTION!”

“CONGRATULATIONS TO THE NEW COUPLEEEEE!”

Eiji looked around everyone with a bewildered expression on his face as Ash continued to declare his love for him in Spanish and crying into his shoulder. _ Huh??? What’s going on? _

The party went on for a good few hours, stretching as far as past midnight, until the effects of the alcohol began to wear off of everyone. Dazed, everyone collapsed on the living room floor under their makeshift sleeping bags, completely passed out. 

_

  
  
  


“Psst, Eiji you awake?” Eiji felt the slightest caressing his cheek. His doe eyes cracked open, seeing two jade green eyes eyeing him curiously, “Yes, Ash? Do you need something?”

“Let’s share mistletoe kisses,” Ash winked, taking his hand. Rubbing his eye with his other hand, Eiji let Ash gently drag him to the corner of their living room, careful not to step on any sleeping bodies. He sat him down below a small mistletoe bush hanging on the wall, sitting next to Eiji. 

“What do you mean by mistletoe kisses?” Eiji asked softly in his sleep ridden voice. 

Gently lit with the light from the twinkle lights wrapped around the Christmas tree, Ash smiled. “Kissing under the mistletoe is a tradition. It symbolizes love.” 

“Ahh, so you want to use this as an excuse to be all  _ sappy _ and  _ romantic _ with me, right?” Eiji flashed his shit eating grin. 

Ash lightly swatted him on the shoulder before wrapping his large arms around Eiji, holding him close. 

“How are you feeling, Eiji? Are you hung over?” Ash asked him. 

“I’m alright I guess...I feel exhausted. Like a lot of brain fog. You?”

“I’m pretty hungover I guess. I have a throbbing headache,” Ash responded. Eiji looked up at him. “Ash, what were you trying to say to me when you were talking to me in some random language?”

“Oh, that!” Ash recalled. “Um...I don’t remember. I think I wanted to raise cats with you.” 

Eiji giggled as Ash joined him in laughter, before leaning onto Eiji’s shoulder and closing his eyes. 

“We didn’t get to share any kisses all day since we were so busy,” Ash admitted, “So I thought that...we can do that now.”

“At four am?” Eiji giggled, “Well…”

Eiji unwrapped himself from Ash’s arms and lifted his hands to cup Ash’s face, delicately stroking his cheeks with his thumbs. He leaned in, until his forehead was touching Ash’s, and rubbed noses with him. 

_ A nose kiss. _

He pulled back. “There! We shared a mistletoe kiss!”

He jokingly removed himself from Ash’s arms and scrambled to lift himself off the floor when Ash grabbed his torso and brought him back down. “No, don’t leave! I want more hugs and kisses!” He pouted, crossing his arms. 

It was obvious that the lynx is in a cuddly mood. He looked adorable with that cute little pout of his accompanied with his lopsided Santa hat. 

Eiji grabbed his face and pinched his beloved’s cheeks, attempting to wipe off the pout from his face, “I was just teasing you, darling. Of course I want to share mistletoe kisses with you.” He breathed, tilting Ash’s chin upwards and tracing tender kisses on his jawline. Ash smiled happily, eyes closing in contentment as he let Eiji plant a thousand _ I love yous _ on his face. Eiji tilted his head down, tucking a piece of hair behind his ear before leaning in to press a gentle kiss on Ash’s lips. Ash let go of Eiji’s waist, moving upwards to caress Eiji’s cheeks as the pair kissed. 

The faint glow of the fairy lights in the background seemed to glow brighter. Ash smelled nothing but the faint mixture of pinewood and peppermint as they sweetly kissed. They separated to catch their breaths before leaning in to share another kiss. Ash couldn’t help but laugh into Eiji’s lips over realizing how  _ clingy _ he was being right now. _ I’m absolutely smitten for this man, _ he thought. They spent a good few minutes sharing several long kisses as they huddled underneath the mistletoe. 

Ash gently pulled Eiji to his lap and hugged him tightly as he pressed kisses on his temple, planting kisses down his cheek and to the bottom of his chin. Eiji tilted his head to the side to give him more access as Ash gently peppered Eiji’s neck with kisses. Eiji couldn’t help but giggle  _ (“Your kisses tickle!”) _ as Ash tightened his arms around him, nuzzling his nose in Eiji’s fluffy hair. 

Wrapped in each other’s embrace, they watched the view of the quiet living room and the array of blankets and sleeping figures together. 

“You know, Eiji?” Ash mumbled, caressing his hair, “I probably sound really  _ sappy _ right now. Rather, I think the line I’m about to say belongs to a cheesy Christmas movie.”

Eiji shifted in Ash’s embrace, turning to look at him, “Hmm, Ash?”

“I don’t think I will ever forget this Christmas in my life,” Ash confessed.

“The only actual  _ good _ Christmases I ever remembered having in my life were hanging a small tree with Griffin and dinner with Dad and his girlfriend,” he said, “I don’t...remember them very well. The only Christmases I remember were large, extravagant parties in that old fart’s mansion where I received million dollars’ worth of jewellery, clothes, perfumes...all of that luxurious shit, you can say. I never had a true Christmas until this year. Because all of this gang shit is over now. And most importantly,  _ you’re _ here.”

Eiji smiled upon Ash’s words. He knew how it was difficult for Ash to express his own emotions, only doing so in his most vulnerable moments where he lets down his walls. Ash got to show a completely new side of himself to his gang today. 

He loves Ash  _ so much _ . 

“I’m so glad you had a memorable Christmas too. I got to have my first American Christmas because of you,” Eiji reached out for Ash’s hands to lace his fingers with Ash’s. “I love you. Or as we say, _ Ai shiteru _ .”

He kisses Ash’s cheek before snuggling into Ash’s warm arms, Ash wrapping their blanket closely around each other.

They took one last look at the cramped but cosy living room, satisfied over everyone’s happiness, before finally succumbing to sleep with holiday spirit filled in their hearts.

  
  



End file.
